"Fateful document": Putin defined the national development goals of Russia until 2030

On Tuesday, July 21, Vladimir Putin signed a decree "On the national development goals of the Russian Federation until 2030". This was reported on the Kremlin website.

As follows from the document, the decision was made for "a breakthrough development of the Russian Federation, an increase in the population of the country, an increase in the standard of living of citizens, the creation of comfortable conditions for their living, as well as the disclosure of the talent of each person."

The President outlined the preservation of the population, health and well-being of people, opportunities for self-realization and development of talents, a comfortable and safe environment for life, decent, effective work and successful entrepreneurship, as well as digital transformation as the main national goals for the next 10 years.

To achieve the goals set, the head of state instructed the government to adjust national projects by October 30. As the press secretary of the president Dmitry Peskov explained, the need for adjustment arose in connection with the unfavorable situation in the global economy. Nevertheless, according to him, the designated goals are ambitious and realistic.

“The document is, indeed, fateful for the country, which deserves a deep analysis and which will be followed in three months by an amendment to the presidential decree in May,” Peskov added.

According to Vladimir Putin's decree, life expectancy in Russia should reach 78 years by 2030. According to Rosstat, in 2019 the corresponding figure was 73.3 years. Further growth in importance will largely be possible due to the implementation of national projects in the healthcare sector, believes Artyom Deev, head of the analytical department at AMarkets.

“We are talking about the construction of hospitals and feldsher-obstetric centers in remote areas of the country, about timely diagnosis and clinical examination of the population. It is also necessary to increase pensions so that older people can spend more money on recreation, buy medicines and quality food, and create opportunities for active old age - that is, provide jobs for senior citizens and people of pre-retirement age, ”Deev explained in an interview with RT.

As follows from the presidential decree, by 2030 Russia should also enter the top ten world leaders in terms of the quality of general education and the volume of scientific research. Moreover, within 10 years the country is planning to increase the share of mass socially significant services available in electronic form to 95%. In turn, the share of households with Internet access should rise to 97%. In addition, the head of state instructed to quadruple investments "in domestic solutions in the field of information technology."

Acceleration factors

Also, Vladimir Putin ordered to achieve by 2030 the country's GDP growth rates above the world average and to achieve a steady increase in the population's income. Against this background, as follows from the presidential decree, over the next ten years, the poverty level in Russia should decrease by half compared to the 2017 indicator.

Note that, at the end of 2017, the share of the population with cash incomes below the subsistence level was 12.9%. Meanwhile, already in 2018, the indicator dropped to 12.6%, and in 2019 - to 12.3%. Such data are provided by Rosstat.

“Achievement of national goals will ensure GDP growth and development of the economy itself. If production and profits grow, enterprises will be interested in creating new jobs and increasing salaries for employees. This, in turn, will cause an increase in the real disposable income of the population and ultimately lead to a reduction in the level of poverty, "said Georgy Ostapkovich, director of the Center for Market Research at the Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge of the Higher School of Economics, to RT.

According to him, an increase in wages and a decrease in poverty will expand the tax base and increase budget revenues. At the same time, the state will again be able to use the funds received to develop human capital - to education and healthcare, Ostapkovich said.

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According to Vladimir Putin's instructions, by 2030 Russia must achieve an increase in non-resource exports by at least 70% compared to the level of 2020. According to experts, non-energy supplies abroad can grow significantly due to the products of the high-tech and agricultural sectors.

“The growth of non-primary exports is planned to be increased by creating competitive products that will be purchased by European and Asian countries. Specifically, vehicles, mechanical equipment, computers and agricultural commodities - food and grain. These factors will also contribute to an increase in the country's GDP growth rates above the world average, ”explained Artyom Deev.

Moreover, as part of the presidential decree, the number of people employed in small and medium-sized businesses should increase to 25 million in ten years.As Alexander Abramov, head of the laboratory at the Institute of Applied Economic Research of the RANEPA, told RT, this goal can be achieved by reducing the administrative burden on entrepreneurs and improving the business climate in the country.

“We see that in recent years steps have been taken in this direction, and the mechanisms of dialogue between government and business are gradually developing. The growth of the business sector will lead to a decrease in unemployment and an increase in the income of the population, "Abramov said.

Living conditions

In addition, the document implies improving the living conditions of at least 5 million families annually and increasing the volume of housing construction to at least 120 million square meters per year.

On July 13, during a meeting of the Council for National Projects, Vladimir Putin said that Russia has a historic chance to resolve the housing issue. According to him, the provision of housing is "one of the fundamental conditions for the normal life of a person and a Russian family." 

“We have a historic chance in the foreseeable future, absolutely understandable, perhaps for the first time in the history of Russia, to resolve, radically resolve the housing issue. We must not miss the chance, we must persistently work on this, ”the President stressed.

According to Alexander Abramov, one of the main drivers of the Russian real estate market should be increasing the availability of mortgages. According to the Central Bank, in May 2020, the average rate on housing loans in Russia has already dropped to the lowest level for the entire observation period - 7.4% per annum. At the same time, experts predict a further decline in the indicator in the near future.

“The mortgage market is one of the engines of economic growth. Increasing the availability of housing loans contributes to an increase in tax collections and the inflow of foreign investment in the construction sector. Mortgages have already become available to the population, which will certainly lead to an improvement in housing conditions and financial stability, ”concluded Abramov.